America's Mayor

John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York

May 5 - October 10, 2010

A new look at the dramatic times and controversial tenure (1966-1973)
of New York City's 103rd mayor.

America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York examines the dramatic times and controversial tenure (1966-1973) of New York’s 103rd mayor. The exhibition presents Lindsay’s efforts to lead a city amid the political and social upheavals of the 1960s and 1970s; it also highlights Mayor Lindsay’s ambitious initiatives to redefine New York’s government, economy, culture, and urban design. As a result of his commitment to civil rights and opposition to the Vietnam War, Lindsay emerged as a national figure in a troubled and exhilarating era. At a time of exodus to the suburbs, he championed city life. The exhibition explores the political and fiscal costs of his approach, particularly growing criticism from disaffected white ethnic voters and a city budget increasingly in debt.

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ADDITIONAL RESOURCES

The exhibition, presented in cooperation with the Municipal Archives, is accompanied by a book of the same title edited by Sam Roberts of The New York Times and co-published by Columbia University Press and the Museum of the City of New York (May 2010), as well as a public television documentary, Fun City Revisited: The Lindsay Years presented by WNET.ORG.

Visit the virtual exhibition for America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York.

Sponsors

The 2010 presentation of America’s Mayor: John V. Lindsay and the Reinvention of New York at the Museum of the City of New York was made possible with lead funding by:

Margaret Lindsay and Michael Picotte
Robert D. Lindsay
Robert V. Lindsay
Bloomberg
The David Berg Foundation
Jeffrey Katzenberg
The George Lindsay Family

As well as the generous support of:

Sunny and Dick Aurelio
Furthermore: a program of the J.M. Kaplan Fund
Ed Hamilton
Sandy and Linda Lindenbaum
The New York Community Trust
Bob Price
The Howard Samuels Family
Constantine Sidamon-Eristoff
Pollock and Arthur Spiegel
The William S. Paley Foundation
John Zuccotti